Scott Swanson
The Sweet Home City Council swore in an interim manager and lost a member Tuesday, May 24.
In a regular council meeting, City Attorney Robert Snyder swore Christy Wurster as interim city manager to replace Craig Martin, who was forced to retire April 30.
“Now you’re actually official,” Mayor Jim Gourley told Wurtser after the brief ceremony.
Then, 10 minutes later, the council found itself with another vacancy as member Bruce Hobbs resigned, saying that he was getting ready to move into a home outside the city limits and therefore couldn’t continue serving on the council.
“It has been a pleasure to work with you,” he told the other members. “I’ve enjoyed my time here – through some of the hard times, as well as easier times. I’m sorry to leave you with so much going on, to have to find another councilor or move on without a councilor.
“My one parting piece of advice would be, ‘Don’t be afraid to make motions and vote on things you want.’”
Hobbs stayed in his seat through the remainder of the meeting.
“So here’s my question: Do we have to accept your resignation and do we have to let you move?” Gourley responded, as laughter filled the chambers.
“You don’t have to accept it, but I’m leaving,” Hobbs replied. He added that he would consider “vacancies in other city boards.”
The council’s newest member, James Goble, called for a special council meeting to discuss council conduct and deportment.
Goble read a letter in which he stated that he considers the council a “dysfunctional team” despite its commitment to the community.
“That being said, I am part of this team now, but my first duty is to the community members I represent.”
He said he has spent the past month “watching the actions of my fellow council members” and wanted to call a meeting to discuss things he has questions and concerns about. He listed them: “council responsibility to the community in respect to communication, council and staff actions and demeanor in open session with our community members, council’s actions between council members in open sessions, council actions or talk that may be perceived as unprofessional or unethical, and responsibility of council members to be at scheduled committee meetings.”
Goble said he believed those issues “need to be addressed ASAP or within the month of June.
“This is not only for public awareness concerns that the community has brought up, but my personal concerns over items I have been witness to.”
He suggested an executive session, but said he was open to talking about them in a public meeting.
Goodwin said Goble’s concerns are “well-taken.”
“I think that the public trust in this council is not high, whether that’s not all earned or not, I don’t know,” Goodwin said.
“But I think the frustration with all the executive sessions, I think it’s a good idea to have this in open session.
“The people need to trust us. Whatever’s going on, we need to have the kind of relationship where they have access to us and know that they can trust what we’re saying,” he added. An audience of about 20 murmured assent.
Councilor Ryan Underwood said he agreed that the meeting should be open.
Gourley said the meeting “actually does not follow under any way that we could have an executive session” and added that he would confer with Snyder and Wurster to put an agenda together. He said it would include the Code of Conduct that each councilor signs, and that ethics guidelines would be available at the meeting.
Councilor Dave Trask, at that juncture, said he had brought the Code of Conduct to read portions at the meeting, “but I think I will pass on that.”
He said he agreed with Goble.
The council agreed unanimously to schedule the meeting for 6 p.m. Thursday, June 2, in the council chambers.
In other action, the council:
– Voted unanimously to appoint Anay Hausner to the Planning Commission to replace Goble, who was appointed March 22 by the council to fill an empty seat. The other two Planning Commission candidates, who were also interviewed by the council previous to its regular meeting, were Steve Magnolia and Jeffrey McDermott.
The council also appointed Eva Jurney to the Library Board and re-appointed Vincent Adams to a new two-year term on the Traffic Safety Committee.
– Approved a request by Public Works Director Mike Adams to solicit candidates for four maintenance worker positions. Two, Adams said, have been unfilled for months, even thought they are in the budget, and one was vacated the week previous to the City Council meeting. Then, he said, another employee resigned the day before the council meeting, leaving the city with four vacant positions. All four positions had been budgeted. They did not include a new position included in the budget, which the council will consider in June, nor the supervisory position that has been discussed in recent months.
“Four vacancies. Are we at 50 percent vacancy? How many maintenance workers do we have at this point?” Councilor Jeff Goodwin asked.
Adams said that one position has been vacant for approximately two years, due to “funding restrictions on the wastewater side,” and another has since October, before the situation was complicated by the death of Maintenance Supervisor Pat Wood in December.
– Approved the closure of 13th Avenue in front of the library building from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on six Wednesdays – June 22 and 29, and July 6, 13, 20 and 27, for the elementary school-age Summer Reading Program.
“This gives us the opportunity to provide programming for the number of children who come to the library,” Library Director Rose Peda said. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to do the programs there, at the library.”
She said the street would be opened as soon as the space is not needed.
Present May 24 was Councilor Greg Mahler in addition to Goble, Goodwin, Gourley, Hobbs, Trask and Underhill.